Offline vs. Online Shopping: Which Is Better?

As someone who claims to dislike shopping, I spend a lot of my time browsing pages on online shopping websites such as Lazada and Qoo10. Whether it’s for phone covers or clothes, I am always tempted to check out online shops because I find them way more convenient to shop while sitting on my comfortable bed.

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However, there are some who still prefer to visit the shop in person and checking out the items there (one of the reasons why our shopping malls are so crowded especially on weekends!).

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Personally, I think both online and offline shopping have their pros and cons, and these are the five ways I would evaluate the two shopping methods.

1. Price

Online prices are becoming highly competitive these days and with loads of discounts and coupons available, it is becoming more difficult for retail shops to match this kind of pricing. Many shops also offer promotions on their online stores but not in their actual retail stores, making their online prices very attractive.

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Plus, with the launch of online websites like Taobao, I always find myself buying various things like phone covers and household items from these sites because I can get them at almost one-third of the price as compared to retail stores in shopping malls. So, in terms of pricing, I think it is pretty much clear cut that online shopping takes the win.

2. Time

No doubt, both types of shopping take lots of time and patience. People would be wrong to think that online shopping does not take up time; trying to find the best deal is not easy. The only part that you can save time on for online shopping is the travelling time to and fro shopping malls. However, if you frequent shopping centres near your school or home, there isn’t much saving there either.

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The same goes for offline shopping – the reality is that we might go into the shopping mall to buy one thing but end up getting distracted by the million other things we see. Also, with us being swarmed by loads of assignments, shopping is basically time consuming no matter online or offline!

3. Options

It is pretty obvious that online shopping provides way more options than offline shopping. After all, online shopping is a place where you can find any product being sold by hundreds of stores around the world, in an immense amount of variations.

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4. Reliability of Products

This, I would have to say, is one of the biggest disadvantages of online shopping. We have seen many people post their online shopping fails, a situation where they receive something that is completely different from what it seemed to be on the internet.

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Despite the flexible return policies that online websites are offering, it is still a hassle. Nothing can beat the assurance you get when you physically try on or look at a product before you purchase it. One point to offline shopping!

5. Convenience

This point relates more to the ease of transporting your purchases. The best example to give would be that of groceries. These days, many households are turning to online grocery shopping, especially when it comes to purchasing bulky items.

Many families may even make the decision to pay a slightly higher price for their groceries (which often can be subsided by the countless promotions online stores offer) so that they can save that backache for another day. So, here's another one to online shopping!

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As we can see, the e-commerce world is really flourishing, and it may not be too long before we witness many brick-and-mortar style shops shutting down as a result.

I believe that ultimately, the answer to the question of which shopping method is better, varies from person to person. But for now, there seems to be many more advantages attached to online shopping as compared to offline.

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